Host Hugh Jackman brings the Broadway touch to Oscars bash

The Aussie heart-throb teamed up Beyonce to present a medley of hits from Academy Award-winning musicals. It was just one of the highlights of the revamped ceremony format

Hugh and the US singer, who were joined on stage by cast members of High School Musical and Mamma Mia!, received a standing ovation for their spectacular performance

If he was suffering from nerves there was no sign of them as Hugh Jackman got this year's Academy Awards off to an all-singing all dancing start. The screen hunk no doubt drew on his time as a Broadway actor as he performed a musical montage of the five best film nominees followed by a joint performance with Beyonce.

The pair, who were joined on stage by cast members of High School Musical and Mamma Mia! in Chicago-style costumes, were given a standing ovation for their medley of hits from Oscar-winning musicals. It was a spectacular start to the Awards, at which Hugh fulfilled his hosting duties with aplomb.

The 40-year-old actor was a departure from the usual choice of a comedian for the presenter's role. That's not to say the evening wasn't without lively banter, though. The first joke of the evening, came at the expense of Hugh himself, as he poked fun at his lack of versatility.

"I'm an Australian who played an Australian in a film called Australia, he said. "Because of the recession, everything is being downsized," he continued, deadpanning: "Next year, I'll be starring in a movie called New Zealand."

Hugh, the first non-American to preside over the event since Crocodile Dundee star Paul Hogan co-hosted in 1987, was part of Oscar bosses' bid to freshen up the ceremony. Another new tack was the idea of having five past winners introduce the nominees in the four acting categories.